Victims of the horrific accident on Wednesday night when a container truck crashed into a religious crusade site on the Victoria Public Road, East Coast Demerara were yesterday counting themselves lucky to be alive.
Nine vehicles including the truck were damaged in the process. Four persons were injured. The vehicles helped spare the crusaders from more serious injuries.
According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the truck which was transporting a container at the time it collided with a car, PKK 8790, was under the influence of alcohol. Stabroek News understands that the driver refused to take a breathalyzer test. He is currently in custody assisting with investigations.
Carl Gordon, the owner of the car recounted that about 9 pm he was on the Belfield public road and had slowed to allow the lorry to pass. However instead, it collided with the right side of his car and the impact caused the car to spin and end up at the side of the road, a few feet from where the collision occurred, and facing the opposition direction.
He noted that three cars, five buses, two motorbikes, and some bicycles were damaged in the accident.
According to Gordon, as a result of the accident, both he and his spouse, Ruth Assanah, were injured. He sustained a concussion and bruises to his right shoulder while his wife sustained a puncture to her forehead and bruises about her body. They both were treated at the Woodlands Hospital in Georgetown and discharged.
The man explained that he is a construction worker and now that his car has been damaged, he has no means of transporting his tools to and from work. As the sole breadwinner of his home, he is hoping be compensated by Rock Hard Cement, the operators of the lorry involved in the accident.
A representative from Rock Hard Cement told Stabroek News yesterday that the driver is still in police custody and that the victims of the accident will be compensated. The director of the company will be reaching out to the insurance company that the lorry is insured under to check on its insurance coverage so the victims’ claims can be processed.
The representative explained that once that is done, their insurance company will take it from there as they may reach out to the individual victims regarding compensation. In addition, the company is awaiting the completion of the investigation by police so that the insurance company can move ahead with processing the claims.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene around 11:45 am yesterday, two car were seen in contact. One belonged to a resident of Victoria Village and the other belonged to an attendee of the crusade. They both were taken aback by the mayhem and damage caused by the lorry and are expecting to be compensated for their loss.
Derek Jillis, 44, of Lot 67 Middle Walk, Victoria Village, and owner of one of the cars told this newspaper that he and his wife were inside their home when they heard a loud impact at about 9 pm. Upon checking outside, he saw his car pushed up under other vehicles. He noted that all the vehicles were badly damaged including his. However, his wife’s car only suffered a dented door. He too, is expecting to be compensated.
Jillis also observed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol and that he refused to take the breathalyzer test.
Meanwhile, the owner of the other car, a 25-year-old attendee of the crusade, who wished not to be named, said he was under the tent where the crusade was being held when he heard a loud noise outside. When he checked outside, “everything was a wreck, cars were pinned down by a truck that has the logo “Rock Hard” behind it. My car bearing license number PSS 9009 that is currently smashed and in a kissing position was pinned down too. Two persons got injured that was outside the tent.”
Even though he could not say what his estimated losses were, he related that the car is his only mode of transportation and like the others, wished to be compensated.
Meanwhile, 51-year old Linden Pilgrim, who owns a bus recalled that about 9:06 pm he was standing in the entrance to the tent when he saw the truck that was heading east on the public road, hit PKK 8790 that had slowed down and as a result of that, one of his (truck) tyres was blown out. The driver then lost control of the vehicle and hit a BMW car, then a bus and a utility pole, then hit the rest of the vehicles causing the motorbikes, car, minibus and bicycles to hit each other with some being flung into the air. “I started to run but due to the intensity of the impact everything was flying in the air and I got knock out in the process.”
Pilgrim added that he sustained a fracture to his left leg and his bus, BLL 8324, was smashed up. “As a construction worker and farmer, I need my bus to transport my tools and my produce. Also, I can’t work at the moment because of the incident so I’m pleading to be compensated for my loss.”
Thirty-four-year-old Dellon Browne, also of Victoria Village, said he was on his motorbike when he felt the impact of the pile-up. He said the impact damaged the motorbike but luckily he wasn’t hurt. “The handles and everything in front of the bike is broken. I would really like if I can be compensated for this cause to buy the parts alone the bike is expensive and I’ll have to buy a new one.”
All the victims are demanding compensation.
